Safer Internet Day – conversation starters

February 12, 2017

Conversation Starters for Parents and Carers

Safer Internet Day is a fantastic opportunity to have a conversation with children about using the internet safely, responsibly and positively.
Whether you are a parent, grandparent, foster carer, aunt, uncle or older sibling – we can all play a role in empowering children to enjoy their time online!
This year, the UK Safer Internet Centre is particularly focusing on the role of images and videos in young people’s lives and has provided some conversation starters to help you talk about these issues with children. Get the conversation started on a positive note with these fun topics!
1. Ask your child about what they like most about the internet and why, such as their favourite app, game or website.
2. Ask your child if they like sharing images and videos online and why. You could talk about your favourite family photos.
3. Share your favourite emoji and ask your child what emoji they like best and why. You could discuss whether emojis make it easier to communicate what you mean.
You could get involved with our Safer Internet Day emoji charades. Find out how www.saferinternet.org.uk/emoji-charades.
Talk about young people’s experiences, responsibilities and boundaries
1. Ask your child whether they have seen people in their school posting images to be mean or embarrass someone. What would they do if they saw this? Who could they turn to for help?
2. You could ask whether they think young people are sometimes embarrassed about the photos their parents/carers post of them. You could talk about what you could do to make sure they are happy with images of them online.
3. Ask your child how they can tell if an image or video is truthful. For example, they might have seen images edited to make people look better, or videos that are fake. Can we always tell?
Discuss how we can all ‘be the change’ and help make the internet a better place
1. What could your child do to make the internet a better place? Can they share images and videos that have a positive message, or do they have creative skills to make their own videos?
2. Ask your child if they know where to go for help, where to find safety advice and privacy settings, and how to report or block on the services they use.
3. Encourage your child to do good digital deeds to help others. Perhaps they can show you how to do
something better online or they might have a friend that would benefit from their help and support.